Deborah M. Foster

Have you ever wondered what it’s really like to grow up in the

shadows of poverty and mental illness? To navigate a childhood

or

Deborah M. Foster

Deborah M. Foster is a scholar, author, and mental health advocate with a Ph.D. in Social Work and Psychology from the University of Michigan. She has published extensively on mental health services, quality of care, and barriers to education for individuals with psychiatric disabilities.

Foster is also the author of What’s So Bad About Being Poor?, a memoir challenging misconceptions about poverty through her lived experiences. A passionate...

Books

What’s So Bad About Being Poor?

Have you ever wondered what it’s really like to grow up in the
shadows of poverty and mental illness? To navigate a childhood
where survival means understanding your parents’ demons before
you understand yourself? In this powerful memoir, Deborah M.
Foster pulls back the curtain on a reality many prefer to ignore.

Growing up in Reagan-era America,...

or

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What’s So Bad About Being Poor?

Our Lives in the Shadow of the Poverty Experts

A deeply vulnerable memoir about the life of Deborah Foster and her family, the hardships they endured, and their link to extreme poverty. Deborah is exploring common misconceptions about the causes and effects of poverty in American society through the lens of her own personal experiences. Inspired by an offensive characterization of poverty by...

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